Race Against Time
by Leowawa
Summary: It was any other normal day for Chihiro until she rescued two spirits in the forest. They suddenly claim she is the one who could save them and the Spirit World...
1. Chapter 1

The little spirit grabbed the covers as tight as she could, letting out a horrible fit of coughs. The girl sitting in the chair beside her bed leaned forward, anxiously wiping the sweat away from her forehead. "I'm sorry I'm such a burden on you both," she croaked, opening her weary eyes.

The girl shook her head, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. A guy behind her was pacing around, staring down at his fists.

He painfully glanced at the girl who was still coughing. "What can we do, Lady Eika?" he insisted, his voice cracking. He stood by the girl in the chair, kneeling beside the bed. He took her sweaty hand, holding it with both hands. The girl who was taking care of the ill spirit gave a sorrowful glance.

"Find her," she finally whispered.

The two looked up, wondering what she was saying. Closing her eyes, she gave another cough. "Find her," she repeated. "Find the one... from the Human World... She will be the one... to... to..." Coughing again, the man held her hand even tighter.

As soon as she finished, she looked at their worried faces. "She will... be the one to... to save us all."

She sighed, closing her eyes. The guy briefly put her warm hand on his forehead for a second. He finally looked up, his eyes filled with determination.

Releasing her hand, he stood up, making his way to the entrance of the tent. "H-Hold on," the girl stuttered, standing up. "Are you really going to the Human World?" The guy turned his head, giving a nod. "If that is what Lady Eika has prophesized, then we should find that human."

Just as his hand was about to pull the tent away to leave, the girl stepped forward. Within the dim lit tent, he recognized her determined face.

"Then I'm coming with you," she declared. "We'll cover more ground if there's two of us." As he was about to open his mouth to protest, she shook her head.

"This camp hasn't been attacked for a while now," she pointed out. "Besides, these spirits are strong. Once we bring the human, we'll be even stronger." The spirit lying in bed nodded. "Bring her with you, Tadashi."

The guy closed his mouth, ruffling his hair. "Geez," he sighed, giving a little smile. "You really know how to push things." Lady Eika smiled, only to cough again.

The girl smirked, bidding farewell to the sick spirit. "Don't worry," she assured. "We'll find her for sure. Just sit tight, and the spirits will take care of you while we're gone." The spirit smiled, touching her cheek. "May you have a safe journey," she murmured.

"Pwahh! Puh pfff!" The girl spat out a leaf that flew into her mouth. The other two giggled as she scowled at the wet leaf. Giving a shudder, she hissed, "Ugh, I hate fall. Sure, leaves will start flying into your face, but I have no tolerance for leaves in my mouth!"

"At least it wasn't a fly like last time, Hitomi," the girl walking beside her snickered. As the girl began to scold her snickering friend, the third girl looked up at the sky. "Not to worry," she sighed, closing her eyes. "Winter is coming, isn't it?"

The two froze in the middle of their fight, giving excited smiles. "Oh, the snow is so beautiful!" the girl thought. "Making snow angels and building snowmen... Oh, and the cocoa! The hot chocolate is the best when you go back in!"

"What's more, Mai," Hitomi insisted. "Christmas! You get to have presents, and maybe some from a secret admirer!" Rolling her eyes as Hitomi and Mai squealed, she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Hey, Chihiro," Mai slyly smiled, nudging her shoulder. "You got his number, didn't you?" Hitomi gasped, punching her arm. "He didn't...?!" she gasped. "Chi, you're so popular with the guys! And the third one this month, eh?"

The teenager rolled her eyes, taking out the little folded paper. With his name on the top, he messily wrote out his number as if he was in a rush.

"I don't know if I should call him," she frowned, staring at the paper for a long time. Before the girls could snap at her, she pointed out, "I don't really know him. I mean, we only talked once for our research paper, but that's about it."

Mai shrugged. "I'd take the chance," she shrugged. "I mean, he's a part of the student council, and the captain of the soccer team. He's so cool whenever he's making those goals."

As she sighed dreamily, Hitomi scowled. "Then why don't you take his number then?" she snorted. "Seems like you're the one liking him."

As the two began to quarrel again, Chihiro stuffed the little paper back into her pocket. The three girls were in the same class in high school, always pestering Chihiro whenever she had gotten a confession. Their school uniform consisted of a simple black blazer and skirt.

The style of shirt, socks, and shoes were free for them to choose. Chihiro chose to wear a plain white blouse, as well as black knee high socks that were mostly covered up by her black boots.

When she had arrived in this town six years ago, she was just the typical shy girl in class. Once she finally opened up with her friends' encouragement, she became the star of her high school class.

She usually kept her hair down, her special hair tie always around her wrist whenever needed during cooking class or gym. Whenever she'd flip her hair or flutter her eyelashes, it seemed that the boys would melt at the sight.

"I'll see you guys over break," Chihiro waved, parting ways with her friends. As they waved back, she began to hike up the steep sidewalk. _This is like another gym class for me_, she panted.

As the road she walked along grew quiet, she finally made it to a small neighborhood. A couple was walking out of the neighborhood, carrying a cradle with their newborn baby. Another was approaching her mailbox, wondering if she had gotten any interesting mail.

One of her neighbors was sitting in his porch, rocking back and forth in his rocking chair. A little puppy perked up from its owner's lap, barking at the girl. The owner snored, unaware of her presence. She gave a little wave, passing the house with the barking dog.

Chihiro finally made it to the house on the left, opening the white fence. Even though the grass was trimmed nicely, the winter cold was slowly turning it into a light brown color. Closing the gate behind her, she walked up the steps and into her house.

"I'm home," she called out, setting her bag on the couch. She let out a sigh, sitting down beside it. "Oh no you don't!" a voice replied. "Stand up, missy. I'm almost done with cleaning, so you better help out!" The girl groaned, covering her face with her arm.

Much to her dismay, she stood up and found her mother in the kitchen. "I accidentally left the back door open this morning," her mother explained while cleaning out the oven. "All of the leaves your father piled by the chairs flew in. Will you sweep them out?"

She grabbed the nearest sweeper and dragged it behind her. "Thank you sweetie," she smiled sweetly. Chihiro sighed at the piles of leaves that had flown in from the wind.

Putting the sweeper in front of her, she began to brush the leaves out. As soon as she got half of the leaves out, she heard an unusual rustle coming from the forest. Chihiro looked up, clutching the broom tightly.

She stepped out, searching for the source. "Hello?" she called out. "Is somebody out there? Dad, we're not going to do this again!" When she was thirteen, her father had scared her on the night of Halloween by hiding in the forest.

Just as she was about to call out to the forest again, she heard a sudden high pitched cry of an animal. Startled, she ran back into the house. Hiding behind the window, she peeked out curiously. _Was that a dog? A bird?_

Another cry alerted her, making her wonder if it was an injured animal. Last summer, she and her mother had found an injured bird that had fallen from its nest. They carefully bandaged it and waited for the bird to heal before they could set it free.

Opening a cabinet, she finally found a little bag labeled First Aid Kit for Animals. Her mother was a vet, and always kept this in case any animals were injured around the neighborhood.

"I'll be right back, mom!" she yelled, swinging it over her shoulder. While running out of the house, she grabbed the broom in case anything would attack her. Taking a deep breath, she plunged into the dark forest.

Dodging the broken branches and jumping through the river of leaves, she heard the animal cry out again. _Hold on, I'm coming!_ she thought.

Just as she was at a dead end with a clump of bushes in her way, she heard a series of rustles again. A dog with fierce teeth leaped over the bushes, giving her a dirty look as it ran off. Behind the dog came an animal Chihiro had never seen before.

It was a silver furred wolf, leaping over the bushes with a magnificent pose. Its silver fur rippled like waves through the wind, its steel blue eyes glancing over at the girl. Landing in the leaves, it growled, following after the dog.

"What... was that...?" she blinked, stunned for a moment. Right after the wolf had jumped, so did a small fox. It was much smaller than the wolf, barely visible with its dark auburn and black fur blending with the dark forest. As it leaped over the bushes, it gave a pained expression. _Is that the animal that cried out?_

Even though it looked like a safe landing, the fox stumbled into the leaves, squealing in pain. Just before another dog and hawk could get the wounded fox, Chihiro held onto the broom as tight as she could and smacked the dog into the bushes.

With a yelp, the dog disappeared into the bushes. The hawk flew off, squawking at the girl and flapping its wings at her.

"Run!" she insisted to the surprised fox. Giving an unexpecting nod, it scrambled up and followed after the wolf. The dog she had hit popped its head out of the bushes, growling at the startled girl.

"Ehehe," she chuckled nervously. She backed away slowly, only to hit a tree. "N-Nice doggy," she coaxed, hoping the dog would not attack her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Easy, doggy," she smiled weakly, looking around for a clear path to run. The fox struggled to stand up, helplessly glancing at the girl. It seemed as though the animal wanted to help her, but had no strength to even stand.

As Chihiro tried to find a way to escape the growling dog, she felt the weight of the broom disappear from her grip. She looked around, wondering what mysterious force took the broom. To her surprise, the hawk had flown over her head, snatching the broom with its sharp claws. _Great_, she bit her lip.

_What can I do now? Yell for help?_ As the dog crept closer and closer, she pinned herself against the tree, hoping something or someone would come to her rescue.

Just as the dog was about to lunge forward, Chihiro caught a glimpse of a silver figure tackling into the dog. With a yelp, the two animals stumbled over into the bushes, struggling in each other's grip.

The fox perked up in surprise, trying its best to stand and help. The wolf instead snarled something at it, causing it to shrink back.

The wolf suddenly glanced up at Chihiro with its shining eyes, as if silently telling her to run. Taking this chance, she immediately scooped up the squealing fox and scrambled away. Panting through the forest, the girl could feel the fox squealing about something, but was not audible to Chihiro.

"I don't know who or what you guys are doing here with those three," she panted. "But to me it's a bit weird with a fox and wolf running around together." As she jumped over a clump of twigs, she heard the fox yelp in pain when she squeezed the fox. "I'm sorry," she gritted her teeth.

As they ran further away from the dog, she continued, "What are you guys? Just regular animals? Spirits? Do you even know what I'm saying?" When she mentioned the word spirit, the fox looked up at her with wide eyes.

_I guess that only caught her attention_, she thought. _Perhaps they are spirits? Lost?_

"Don't worry," she assured. "I have a first aid kit, so I'll patch you up once we find a safe spot-" Hearing a twig crack behind them, Chihiro turned around instinctively. The other dog had appeared, leaping right over their heads.

She crouched down, watching as the dog landed a couple feet away from the two. Snarling, it dugs its claws into the ground as if waiting for them to make a move.

Feeling the fox's fur rise, it slipped through her arms, pouncing at the dog. "W-Wait!" she protested, watching as the fox tackled into the dog. Hearing them tumble down the hill, she ran over to the area where they fell.

Before she could slip over the steep hill, she grabbed hold of a tree beside her. "What did I get myself into," she thought to herself, letting go of the tree. She slowly slid down the steep hill, jumping as soon as she found the ground.

Stumbling forward, she wiped away any dirt that had splattered on her clothes. Looking around, she tried to find where they had landed. Once she heard a snarl, she headed left in hopes of finding the fox safe.

_Human!_ Chihiro froze at the sound of her name, wondering who had spoken. Her eyes slowly turned to the clump of fur struggling on the side of the hill. "The wolf from earlier..." she blinked. "But... What was that... Telepathy...? So you are spirits." She rushed forward to help the wolf, but growled at her to keep away.

As the dog continued to try and snap at the wolf, it paid no attention and spoke to her again. _I have no choice... but to trust you, human_. The silver wolf finally threw the dog off of it, leaping to Chihiro's side. With it close to her, she could feel its soft fur tickle her arm. Dropping something into her palm, it growled, _Eat this. Save her, first_.

"Save her...?" She finally realized it was talking about the fox. Looking down at her hand, she found a little seed, much like what Haku had given to her when she began to turn invisible.

"Wait, what do you mean?" she asked. "I have so many questions, and I know this isn't the right time. But what's this supposed to do? I don't have any special powers that can fend off vicious dogs."

Before the wolf could speak again, the hawk had appeared, its claws reaching out to the wolf. Chihiro stared in shock as the dog returned and began to drag the wolf away with the hawk. _Go!_ the wolf snarled.

Holding the little seed tightly, she nodded and ran off into the forest. Taking in a deep breath, she put the seed into her mouth and swallowed it, wondering if she would turn into some animal.

_So what's going to happen?_ she pondered. _Will I turn into a dragon? A snake? Pegasus?_

Feeling nothing, she looked down at her hands, waiting for some transformation to occur. Paying no attention, she felt something hit her face, causing her to stumble back. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing her stinging nose. She realized she had run into a tree while she was staring at her hands.

"Alright," she sighed, looking around to make sure no one had seen her embarrassing act. "Don't distract yourself. You need to help these spirits." The fox yelped once again, perking to her attention. She stood up, reaching a clearing. The dog had the little fox pinned to the ground, taunting it with its sharp teeth and snarls.

"Hey!" Chihiro grabbed a rock and threw it at the dog. Hitting its head, it growled, slowly turning to face her. "Pick on somebody your own size!" she snapped, not knowing what to do afterwards.

The dog stood there for a while, finally releasing the fox. Slowly approaching Chihiro, it bared its teeth and crouched down to pounce.

_Breathe, Chihiro, breathe!_ She made a fighting stance, bracing herself for any attack. The fox behind the approaching dog used every ounce of its strength to hold itself up. With its tiny paws shaking, it looked up at the girl with startled eyes.

_What is she doing...?!_ Before the fox could yelp in alarm, the dog had already leaped forward.

Chihiro instinctively raised her arms in defense, hoping some miracle would happen. Instead of feeling anything bite or push her down, she opened one eye, noticing the dog already on the ground.

It slid back, surprised by the girl. The fox as well at its eyes wide open, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Wait..." Chihiro thought. She glanced down at her hands, wondering what power surged through her hands.

As she heard the dog bark and crash backwards, she heard and felt a soft burst of wind. "I... have powers?"


	3. Chapter 3

As the dog scrambled back up in alarm, Chihiro continued to stare down at her palms. "Since when did this happen...?" She tried to remember her encounters with wind at any given time. During school, she and her friends pranked this guy with a whoopy cushion. While they were in the city the train they were passing by knocked all of her notes out of her hand and flew into the wind.

_No it couldn't be any of those. _A flashback of memories involving the wolf earlier reappeared. _Was it that seed?_ The fox weakly sat up, finally opening its mouth.

"How... did you do that?" it asked with a female voice. Glancing at the little fox with a startled look, she turned back and forth at her hands and at the talking fox. "I... I..." Chihiro was too overwhelmed to reply to the questioning animal.

The dog finally scrambled up, lifting its head to find the hawk screeching at the hound. Barking back at the bird, it was as if it was being scolded. In the meantime, Chihiro slowly crept up to the fox, picking it up and retreating beside the trees where she thought it would be safer.

"You thought standing next to a tree would be safer?" the fox raised an eyebrow. Chihiro ignored the animal, watching as the animals continued to bicker. With the dog's head hung low, the two finally retreated to the dog the wolf was fighting earlier. With one last snarl, the dogs and hawk disappeared within the forest.

She realized the dogs were snarling at something above their heads, and turned to find the silver wolf standing at the top of the hill. With one leap, it landed beside the two and sniffed the injured fox.

"Oh," she broke from her trance, finally opening her bag. The two animals curiousloy stared at the teenager as she searched through her medicine bag. Rummaging through the pill bottles and little kits, she found some gauze pads to first clean the wound. As she ripped it open, her eyes stared hard at the fox's matted fur. "Um... How can I do this..." she blinked awkwardly.

With a sigh, the fox strangely began to grow larger. "Would this help?" In a mere second, the form of the fox turned from a chihuahua sized animal into a full grown girl. She had long auburn hair, much like the fox with startling green eyes. She wore a navy blue kimono that was cut short right above her knees as a skirt.

_S-She's very pretty_, Chihiro thought. Noticing the dark red blob on her shoulder spreading on her kimono, she stepped forward to inspect it. She helped her mother with animal patients, but never an actual person.

Carefully moving her kimono to the side, she revealed a nasty gash over her shoulder. "Thanks," she swallowed, carefully dabbing at the wound. The girl winced a couple of times, but gradually got used to it. "That dog has a nasty bite," she growled. "If only we were in the spirit world... My powers would be stronger. I could've grabbed him by the collar and-"

The wolf looked away, transforming as well. It was a tall man in a baby blue kimono with short silver hair hanging over his blue eyes. "Save your if-we-were-in-the-Spirit-World moments, Izumi," he sighed, brushing the leaves and twigs off of his kimono. Looking at Chihiro, he suddenly gave her a suspicious expression.

Crossing his arms, he questioned, "What is your name?" After finishing cleaning the wound, she brought out a strange liquid bottle, much to the fox girl's dismay. She turned the bottle upside down, drenching the gauze pad.

As she approached the girl with the wet cloth, she hesitantly swallowed and sat still in fright. Before she began to clean the wound, she grabbed a roll of bandages as soon as she wiped the wound away. "I'm Chihiro," she introduced. "I heard one of you yelp and I thought I could come over and help."

As soon as she delicately placed the drenched gauze pad over her shoulder, the girl shrieked in pain, her long nails digging into the grass. "Your human medicine thought it could help?" she winced. After a moment, the pain slowly numbed and she relaxed once again. "It hurts at first, but it'll wear out later," she explained, grabbing the long strip of bandages beside her.

"By the way, I'm Izumi," the fox girl finally greeted. "That's Tadashi." Glancing at the two while tightly bandaging her shoulder, she asked, "Are you guys from the Spirit World?" The two froze, startled by her sudden question. Stopping, the girl stared at them as well.

"Did I step into a delicate subject?" she nervously asked. "No no," Tadashi frowned. "How does a human know of the Spirit World? Has Kasai gone so far as to manipulate humans as well?" Quickly waving her hands in front of her, she immediately shook her head. "No, it's not that!" she denied. "I don't know who this Kasai guy is, but I knew because... because of..."

The nostalgic memories of the young river spirit emerged from her memories. The times when she flew on his back, when she ran through terrible dangers from Yubaba, and the everlasting bondings with her spirit friends. While daydreaming, she seemed to have released the bandages from her grip. "Um, Chihiro?" Izumi blinked. "The bandages are loosening up." Chihiro blinked, looking down to find them unraveling. "Oh? Sorry..."

Pushing the memories away, she quickly tightened them in one quick pull. Izumi squeaked, regretting telling Chihiro about the loose bandages. "I know of the Spirit World because I've been there before. Six years ago." The fox spirit gave a little chuckle. "Six years ago? You must have been a little human back then. What, did you simply walk through without alarm?"

Chihiro weakly laughed, "That's uh, basically it." Giving a little bow at the ends of the bandages, she allowed Izumi to pull her kimono back up. "So what are we going to do now, Tadashi?" she asked.

The silver haired man was deep in thought, giving quick glances at Chihiro in the meantime. "Chihiro," he asked. "Will you be willing to come with us back to the Spirit World?"

"Huh?" Chihiro blinked. She gripped the strap of the bag tightly, biting her lip. "I, um..." The snarling dog and claws of the hawk frightened her. "Why did you choose me?" she blurted out. "I'm just a normal girl, aren't I? Besides the fact that you gave me powers and all..."

Tadashi gave her a little smile. "You're not so much of a normal human now."


End file.
